"We need a plan," Ralth said. "The examiner mentioned ten monsters with crystal balls. We need to find them."
"And we also need to try avoid the other apprentices who are hunting each other. I bet a lot of those who survived are either super talented or more realistically, have connections to Magi in some way, either through family relations, mentorship or even through a situation like our friend Ferris here." Pell added with a smirk.
"Will you not stop bringing that up," Ferris said angrily.
"Let's move away from this area," Ralth suggested. "The smell of these creatures might attract even more predators."
As they gathered their belongings, three figures stepped into view—apprentices like them, but with cold expressions and their weapons already drawn.
"Well, well," said the leader, a tall boy with a jagged scar across his cheek. "Looks like we found our first targets."
The group tensed up as Ralth subtly began casting Force Field Barrier.
"We don't want trouble," Charlotte said, stepping forward. "I think there's enough room in this forest for all of us to go about our business peacefully."
The scarred boy laughed. "That's where you're wrong. Only a limited number can pass. The rest die." He gestured to his companions. "And we've already decided we're going to be among those who pass."
Without warning, the boy to his right launched a Magic Missile directly at Charlotte.
Ralth's Force Field Barrier instantly sprung up and it slammed harmlessly against the blue shield.
"You're fast," the scarred boy acknowledged, "But how long can you maintain that shield against all three of us?"
All three enemy apprentices began casting simultaneously, barraging the group with attacks.
"Spread out!" Ralth shouted to his group. "Don't make yourselves easy targets!"
A Lightning Bolt from the scarred boy grazed Ferris's shoulder, sending him spinning to the ground. Mina's sent out a Flame Dart in retaliation but it missed its target entirely.
Ralth realized they were losing. If he didn't do something drastic, his friends would die here.
When the smallest of the enemy apprentices charged forward, separated from his allies, Ralth saw an opportunity. Dropping his defensive posture, he jumped forward, casting Magic Missile not at the apprentice's chest, but at the ground before him.
The explosion sent dirt and moss flying, temporarily blinding the boy. In that moment of confusion, Ralth closed the distance, grabbed the apprentice's wrist, and twisted sharply, forcing him to his knees.
The boy's eyes widened in shock as Ralth's quickly cast a different spell— Silencing Spell. The magic took effect instantly, preventing the apprentice from calling out to his allies.
The boy reached for a knife at his belt. Ralth saw the blade coming toward him and his hand shot out, catching the boy's wrist again, redirecting the motion of the knife.
The blade slid between the boy's ribs with surprising ease.
Warm blood spilled all over Ralth's hand. The apprentice's eyes widened in shock. This was a death match, after all. Only one of them would walk away.
As the boy slumped to the ground, Ralth felt noxious. He had just killed someone. Not a mana beast, a person like him.
However, there was no time to process the feeling. The other two enemy apprentices had noticed their companion death and were now focusing all their attacks on Ralth.
Ralth barely had time to react before the barrage of spells flew toward him.
He rolled to the side barely avoiding a Magic Missile that slammed against the tree behind him.
Mina flung a Fire Dart at one of the attackers which forced him to dodge but the scarred leader of the group was already moving. A gust of wind howled through the clearing as he unleashed Wind Cutter.
"Get down!" Ralth shouted.
Ralth threw up a Force Field Barrier but the force of the spell sent him stumbling back. The moment the shield dropped, an enemy launched a Magic Missile at him. Ralth barely dodged.
Pell swung his staff, sending an Magic Missile to the enemies forcing them to jump back.
Taking advantage of the moment, Ferris charged forward. He slammed his shoulder into an apprentice easily sending him crashing to the ground.
The scarred leader's eyes widened in rage. "You little—"
He raised his hand, gathering mana for a powerful spell, but Ralth wasn't going to let him finish. With a flick of his wrist, he launched another Magic Missile, aiming not at the leader, but at the ground before him.
Boom!
Dirt and smoke erupted blinding the enemy.
That second was all Ralth needed. He quickly cast Magic Missile again slamming the leader in his chest sending the scarred boy flying backward into a tree. He groaned but before Ralth could finish him off, the other enemy apprentice suddenly grabbed his shoulder and pulled him away.
Charlotte swung another Magic Missile at the enemy but it seemed to miss.
"They got away." Charlotte stated.
Ralth stared at the lifeless body of the apprentice he had killed. The boy couldn't have been older than sixteen, with freckles scattered across his now-pale face.
What bothered Ralth most wasn't what he'd done but how quickly it had happened. One moment, he was a living person that had stood before him; the next,he was just a dead body on the forest floor. Although, Ralth had decided to be ruthless, it still bothered him how quickly someone could die.
If things had gone wrong that could have been me, he thought.
"Is he...?" Charlotte's voice sounded though she couldn't finish the question.
"Yes. He's dead" Ralth's reply was flat and emotionless.
A soft glow caught his attention. From the dead apprentice's pocket, a small sphere of light emerged, floating upward before settling into a perfect crystal ball about the size of a child's marble. It hovered briefly, then dropped into Ralth's outstretched palm.
The crystal was warm to the touch and radiated a gentle light.
"What is that?" Mina asked, stepping closer to examine the strange object.
"I think it's what the examiner meant," Ferris said, kneeling beside the body to check its pockets. "Each defeated apprentice drops a crystal ball—we need these to pass."
"So we have to... kill people... to get these?" Charlotte's voice trembled.
Ferris stood up, brushing dirt from his knees. "Not necessarily kill. The examiner said 'defeated.' But in a fight for survival..."
He shrugged.
Pell looked pale, leaning against a tree to support his still-healing leg. "We should search the others. They might have collected more crystals."
"They ran away," Mina said, scanning the forest where the other two attackers had fled.
"No," Ralth corrected, pointing to a patch of disturbed moss about twenty yards away.
"One of them didn't make it far."
The group approached cautiously. Another body lay crumpled among ferns, a fatal wound in his chest. It seemed Charlotte's spell had found its mark after all even though she hadn't realized it in the heat of battle.
Like the first, this body also produced a crystal ball, which floated up and hovered until Ralth collected it.
Charlotte stared at the crystal in shock. "I did that? I killed him?"
"You defended yourself," Ferris said firmly. "If you hadn't, it would be you lying there instead."
Ralth examined the two crystal balls in his palm. Each contained what looked like a hurricane made of mana, swirling with colors that shifted between blue, purple, and gold. As he studied them, he felt the Felsan Cube inside him resonate with the crystals.
---
[FELSAN CUBE]
- Energy Reserve: 13% (+3% from absorbed crystal energy)
- Spiritual Strength: 16 → 17
- Available Functions:
- Energy Absorption (Passive)
- Knowledge Extraction (Active)
- Mana Absorption(Active)
- Copy Spell (Active)
---
The cube had automatically drawn some power from the crystals using it to strengthen Ralth's spiritual strength.
Huh, so it does that too? If I find more of these I could quickly accumulate the 20 required spiritual strength required to be a First-Ring Magus.
"We should keep moving," Ralth said, pocketing the crystals. "The commotion might have attracted more beasts—or worse, other apprentices."
"Wait," Charlotte grabbed his arm. "We need to talk about what just happened. About what we're doing here."
Ferris sighed impatiently. "What's there to discuss? It's us or them. Simple as that."
"Nothing about this is simple!" Charlotte snapped. "We just took two lives! Doesn't that bother you at all?"
"Of course it does," Ferris replied. "But bothered won't keep us alive."
"He's right," Ralth said quietly. "I don't like it either, Charlotte. But we knew what this exam was when we signed up."
"Did we?" Charlotte challenged. "Did you really understand what it meant to kill someone? Because I didn't, and now..." She looked down at her hands, "Now I do."
Mina gently placed her arm around Charlotte's shoulders. "Maybe we don't have to kill. Maybe we can just... disable opponents? Or focus on finding the ten monsters with crystal balls?"
"And what if others won't show us the same mercy?" Pell asked. "What if we're attacked again? Are we just to sit back and let them kill us."
The group fell silent.
Eventually, Ralth spoke. "We defend ourselves if attacked. We hunt the monsters for their crystals when possible. And we avoid other apprentices unless we have no choice besides some of the apprentices died while falling or were killed by monsters, we can collect Crystals from them." He looked at each of his companions. "Can we agree on that much?"
One by one, they nodded. Even Charlotte gave a reluctant nod.
"Good, let's pack up and get a move on."
As they gathered their belongings to move on, Ferris lingered behind with Ralth.
"You know it won't be that simple," he muttered, low enough that only Ralth could hear. "You've know deep down what it's like out there. A lot these apprentices aren't just defending themselves, they're hunting others for the satisfaction of it. We have to kill to survive."
"I know." Ralth replied.
"And if we encounter these types of people?"
"Then we do what we must. It's either us or them after all."